Microwave-Powered Drone Is Being Explored To Save Rockets Fuel On Space Trips
Image via Shutterstock
In a study published in the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, researchers at the University of Tsukuba in Ibaraki, Japan, have laid out their findings from studying a new technology: using microwave propulsion.
According to the university, sending a rocket to space would require around 90% of the its weight to be fuel, leaving little room for much else. Instead of fuel, the researchers theorized “wirelessly transmitting the needed power,” thus freeing up all that space for payload and potential passengers. The solution they decided to try out was using a beam of microwave radiation.
Decades ago, studies similar had been carried out. However, they only used low frequency waves of a few gigahertz (GHz). Since the efficiency of transmitting power is raised according to frequency, the team experimented with a higher frequency wave of 28GHz to power a drone.
During the test flight, researchers saw that the 400g (0.88lb) drone hovered above the radiation’s source for about half a minute, at a height of 800 centimeters (31.5 inches)—a signal that wireless microwave transmission could, indeed, fuel our rockets in the future.
Kohei Shimamura, lead author of the study, explains that further work is required to “improve the transmission efficiency and thoroughly evaluate the feasibility of this propulsion approach for aircraft, spacecraft, and rockets.”
Apart from freeing up space in the spacecraft, which, in itself, opens up a world of possibilities, this discovery joins a helium balloon and shockwaves in a lineup of more eco-friendly ways of propelling rockets.
[via The Brighter Side of News, image via Shutterstock]
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